Rebirth of Archery

Shotgunner11 you are well on your way . Not many people know about the muscles that are rarely used except in an activity like archery . The great thing about a self bow is they don,t take much more than effort to make . The price of a 2x4 and a few simple tools . If you make a lighter bow you can give it away or trade it when you build up a bit . I realise you say you only want to target shoot . While its not necessary to do tournaments to enjoy yourself there are rendesvous and medeval reenactmewnts that can be quite pleasant and rewarding .
 
Talking about starter selfmade selfbow, I'd say that Holmegard might be a perfect design for that, if you are not into medieval reenactment, where you typicaly need ELB, that is. What do you guys think?
 
shotgunner11 said:
I'm also a fairly large guy, about 280 on my beefier days, so not to sound smite, but I could most likely handle quite a bit of weight.

From what I've been told, it's not the initial pull that will get ya, but the smaller adjustments your back and shoulders perform in order to steady the weight and get your point of aim. Thats what damages the smaller, less developed muscles in your back.

The last time I shot was a few months ago with a friends hunting bow. It had an 80lb pull and I shot about 50 shots. The next day, things hurt that I didn't know I had. Took me a while to figure out why it hurt....duh.
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I admire and respect your strength -- truthfully!. But make no mistake about it, a bow pulling 80 lbs at your draw length is NO FRIEND. Play with him and he will haunt you the rest of your days.

:)
 
Hey Shotgunner....

I guess I would have to ask, what you want to do with it...

Do you plan to hunt with it to gather food,, or are you just wanting to target shoot with it..

Personally myself,, I don't have the time to spend tuning a bow, and spending countless hours with it..
I can shoot compound, although I haven't picked up my bow for several years,, I got pretty good with it fairly fast, but it's far too much work for me now...

Now I shoot an Excalibur Exocet crossbow.

It's by far the most accurate piece of gear I've ever flung an arrow out of, and instead of weeks an months of prep before a hunt,, now it's only a couple hours at best, and most of that is screwing about...

Last year before bear season I picked up my bow a couple of weeks before season,, flung 6 arrows to make sure it was still zero'd and put it back in the case..

Another six shots at camp to straighten out a stretched string,,and I was good to go...It put arrows into the bottom of a pop can at 25-30 yards...
Took a bear with it in the pump house at 27 yards...

So I guess it all depends again what you want to do....
I'd say if you don't have alot of time to practice and want to fill tags,, then get an Excalibur recurve crossbow..

If you want to learn achery a traditional recurve is the way to go...

Edited to say:

The only bad part about a Excalibur crossbow is that it gets boring right quick..Theres only sooo many bulls you can shoot before it becomes pointless..


ttyle

Eric...
 
Hey Normark, I guess my purpose is more geared for survival. I want to get my skills back up to par on a reliable peice of equipment, so I know I can shoot proficently before I try making my own bows.

I dont want to make a bow and cast it off as crap when its me and not the bow.

The end result of this little experiment, if it goes to plan for me, would be for me to be able to fashion my own bows, out of locally available materials, with only the crudest of tools, and shoot it with enough skill for defense and to take game if the need arises.

This will be a hobbie for me also, as I have had to give up all my hobbies that require money, I'm a full fledged, card carrying PO' boy.
 
This will be a hobbie for me also, as I have had to give up all my hobbies that require money, I'm a full fledged, card carrying PO' boy.[/QUOTE]

I can,t be a card carrying po boy cause I can,t afford to pay the dues . L:O:L
Although making a character self bow from a tree stave is a bit more of a challenge it certainly can be done . Selection , cutting and seasoning are pretty important for your first couple of bows . Going to a woodyard and selecting a good board is easier . The grain and the way it was cut is more apparent .
I don,t think you can get a 2x4 in ash so it may have to be a 2x6 . If its a good board you shoud get at least two bows . You shoud be able to get it and cut in two for about 8 bucks .

The viper longvow I mentioned is about the least expensive on the production bows .
 
That Viper is very nice looking but its a bit out of my price range. I'm looking for somthing in the "free" price range but I think I'm going to need to pay a little.
At some point down the road, that may find it's way into my budget.
 
Shotgunner11,

You are welcome. I saw this a while back and just remembered it today -- thought you may be interested.

I found it a good read. I hope it is useful to you.

:)
 
Talking xbows, the bowmaker friend of mine just finished a living history 10. century crossbow for a reenactor. I don't know why he wastes his skill on such a lowly weapon if he should make bows, but it looks lovely... well for a crossbow :-)

kuse1.jpg

kuse2.jpg

kuse3.jpg
 
alberich,

I see you are an archer...can tell by the way you talk about crossbows.

I used to shoot only traditional bows and then blew my shoulder (had surgery last year), but now shoot compounds (used to curse these darn machines). With the shoulder I've even thought of crossbows, but haven't gone that route yet.

Really, I'm working hard to rebuild the shoulders so that I can start shooting a stick again.

Nonetheless, I like the crossbow you posted...thanks for sharing.

:)
 
plowboy said:
I see you are an archer...can tell by the way you talk about crossbows.
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Not only an archer, but also so damn serious, well, thats me :-)

Some more pictures of the beauty:

kusehawk.jpg


and here some iconography:

obr.jpg
 
Pretty neat . That character bow looks great . thanks for the additional pics of the crossbow trigger mechanism . Is the "hook" a simple vertical dowel/post . The string must abraid against it upon release ? I am intrigued by early trigger mechanisms . I presume there is a long lever along the bottom of the stock that you depress to release the "Hook"?
 
Kevin the grey said:
Pretty neat . That character bow looks great . thanks for the additional pics of the crossbow trigger mechanism . Is the "hook" a simple vertical dowel/post . The string must abraid against it upon release ? I am intrigued by early trigger mechanisms . I presume there is a long lever along the bottom of the stock that you depress to release the "Hook"?
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Yes, exactly. The peg just lifts the crossbow string up, above the "step" where it was hooked.
 
alberich,

Wow! When I looked at the pictures of your bows my reaction was that a BIG smile came across my face. (really, a BIG smile). Now that's what a bow should look like. Not a darn machine with wheels and cables. I love your sticks.

Thanks for sharing.

:) :) :) :) :)

Edit: By the way, do they have much hand shock? What are the approximate draw weights at your draw length? Did you build the bows?
 
plowboy said:
alberich,

Wow! When I looked at the pictures of your bows my reaction was that a BIG smile came across my face. (really, a BIG smile).QUOTE]

Thanks, but these are not mine. I have three bows made by the same bowyer, fourth in making, and they are good too. I might post the pictures later.
What I have is an backed IPE at #40, self ash about #55, (both victorian target tiler) and backed elm, #30, full medieval tiler with recurve ends, for some mock battles (only the last one I build myself on a bowyer workshop, i.e. under careful tutelage, so it's actualy not quite my work :-) ).

I have no problems with handshock, but this depends on arrows, too. The #40 IPE has very little handshock even if I shoot light dural arrows because the bow is very light and fast, so most of the energy goes into the shaft anyway.

With heavier arrows I have no handsock at all, the action is very smooth.
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Plowboy, I see that you mentioned a problem with your shoulder. I suppose that a handshock might be a problem so if you want to go back traditional and instinctive shooting, and there is no good bowyer around you, you might try Kassai's Hun at about #35. I have one, shoots smooth and fast, something between longbow and a recurve. You can order them from http://www.horsebows.com - I got mine for cca $300 long time ago, but I had to travel to Slowakia - Hungary border to buy it from horse archers - but it was a nice trip and it was very interesting to see them training. Friendly people, too.
 
alberich,

Thanks for recommending the horse bows. I am have seen this type of bow in some magazines, but have never tried one. I will visit the website you provided. There's nothing more I had rather do than return to traditional or primitive bows. Thanks very much.

:)
 
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